Budding alt-pop musician Morgxn closed his debut album Vital with a cover of the Cure’s 1979 hit “Boys Don’t Cry.” The Cure typically don’t authorize such covers, but in an interview with Rolling Stone at Lollapalooza, Morgxn explained his connection to the song and how he convinced Robert Smith to let him include it on the album.

Morgxn said he recorded his version of “Boys Don’t Cry” not long after his father died. The third verse hit him hard, when Smith sings: “I would tell you that I loved you/ If I thought that you would stay/ But I know that it’s no use/ And you’ve already gone away.” Morgxn said he immediately got in the booth and cut the vocals in one take.

Knowing the Cure typically don’t approve recorded covers, Morgxn decided not to reach out to the band right away. Instead, he tested the waters by performing the song as a staple of his live show. Eventually, Morgxn reached out to Smith, sending him both the song and a personal letter.

“I was like, ‘I would never touch another person’s song and mean any disrespect by it, but this is what this song means to me right now,'” Morgxn said. “I sent him the song and he wrote back, via his publisher, that he approves. And his publisher was like, ‘This is rare.’ And I was freaking out, but then I got to put it on my record.”

Morgxn will embark on a North American tour this fall in support of Vital. The trek starts September 13th in San Diego, California.